Eyeglasses with electrical components

Abstract

A pair of glasses with one or more electrical components partially or fully embedded in the glasses is disclosed. In one embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a speaker and an electrical connector, both at least partially embedded in the glasses, with the speaker and the connector electrically coupled together by an electrical conductor. In another embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a storage medium and an electrical connector. In yet another embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a speaker, a coder / decoder, a processor and a storage medium. The glasses can serve as a multimedia asset player. In a further embodiment, some of the electrical components are in a base tethered to a pair of glasses. Instead of just receiving signals, in one embodiment, a pair of glasses also has a microphone and a wireless transceiver. In another embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a preference indicator that allows a user to indicate the user's preference regarding, for example, what is being output by the glasses. In yet another embodiment, there can be one or more control knobs on the glasses. In a further embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a camera and electrical components for wireless connection. In yet a further embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a sensor.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 964,011, filed Oct. 12, 2004, and entitled “TETHERED ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS FOR EYEGLASSES,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, which in turn claims priority to each of: (i) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 509,631, filed Oct. 9, 2003, and entitled “TETHERED ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS FOR EYEGLASSES,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (ii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 527,565, filed Dec. 8, 2003, and entitled “ADAPTABLE COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES,” which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (iii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 562,798, filed Apr. 15, 2004, entitled “EYEWEAR WITH ULTRAVIOLET DETECTION SYSTEM,” and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference; (iv) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 583,169, filed Jun. 26,2004, entitled “ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] The present invention provides a pair of glasses with one or more embedded or partially embedded electrical components. In a number of the embodiments of the invention, with one or more electrical components in the glasses, the electrical components are much easier to operate. For example, you do not have to take an electronic device out from your pocket to use it. The electronic device may already be in your glasses, and you just have to turn it on.

[0008] Embedding electrical components into glasses has become easier due to a number of industrial trends. First is the miniaturization of electrical components. Another reason is that many different styles of glasses in the industry have more surface areas. They can have wider temples at the hinges of the frames. The wider temples might be for the placement of logos. They can have shields at the edges of the lens holders of the frames. This can be for stylistic reasons. Or, they can be for health reasons. For example, some people may want to minimize the amount of sunlight or ultraviolet light going into their eyes. One way is to have sunglasses with frames or shields on frames that better fit their facial profile. Such frames provide more areas to hold electrical components. Further, the chance for the electrical components to adversely affect the style of the frames is reduced.

[0012] In yet another embodiment, a pair of glasses includes a speaker, a coder / decoder, a processor and a storage medium. The pair of glasses can serve as a multimedia asset player, such as a MP3 player. There can also be a connector at the glasses to facilitate the transfer of multimedia assets.

[0014] Instead of just receiving signals, in one embodiment, a pair of glasses also has a microphone and a wireless transceiver. The pair of glasses allows a user to engage in wireless communication.

[0015] In another embodiment, a pair of glasses with wireless coupling capabilities includes a preference indicator. The indicator allows a user to indicate the user's preference regarding, for example, what is being output by the glasses. There can be a radio embedded in the glasses. If the user provides her preference on, for example, the song being played, her preferences can be remotely tracked by a third party. There can be a multimedia asset player in the glasses, with the multimedia assets wirelessly received by the glasses. If the user provides her preference on the assets being played, these assets can be stored in a storage medium in the glasses for later consumption.

[0017] In a further embodiment, the glasses include a camera. The camera captures what the user sees. In other words, what the user sees can be what the user gets. Images captured can be stored at a remote site. This can be achieved, for example, by downloading the images to a storage device using a connector at the glasses. Or, if the glasses have wirelessly connection capabilities, the images can be wirelessly transmitted to the remote site. The glasses with a camera allow the user wearing the glasses to be remotely control.

Problems solved by technology

Further, the chance for the electrical components to adversely affect the style of the frames is reduced.

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